Published on November 12, 2025 by Morgan Black
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Students on Samford University Cumberland School of Law’s national trial team won the Premiere Trial Competition in Austin, Texas, from Nov. 7-9. The invitation-only event, hosted by the University of Texas School of Law, is limited to students who have never participated in an external law school trial competition and are making their “premieres.”
The Premiere represents an excellent educational opportunity as coaches from other trial advocacy programs around the country serve as the judges and provide feedback to the students following each round.
Cumberland’s team of second-year students—Elle Brown, Cooper Gray, Ellie Tidwell and Daniel Washington—each participated for the first time as advocates at the national level and won the ballot of every judge who scored them. The team was assisted by fellow second-year law student Grant Miller. Brown won a best advocate award. The team was coached by Cumberland alumni Lana Bell, JD ’20, and Mason Osborn, JD ’22.
“We are incredibly proud of our students for their outstanding performance at the Premiere,” Bell said. “This accomplishment is a testament to their hard work and to the strong tradition of preparation and professionalism that defines Cumberland’s trial advocacy program.”
Judge Jim Roberts, JD ’94, serves as the director of National Trial Teams and co-director of Advocacy Programs at Cumberland. “The Premiere provides a tremendous opportunity for students who have never competed at the national level,” Roberts said. “Because most of our students come to law school with little to no experience in the courtroom, this competition accelerates the educational process. I’m very proud of these students and very grateful to our coaches for their excellent work.”
In the same weekend, Cumberland students competed in the Medical-Legal Trial Competition hosted by Hofstra School of Law in Long Island, New York. The event features a new and unique approach to trial competitions in which the medical and law schools collaborate to simulate real-life physician testimonies by assigning medical students to play expert witnesses in a courtroom scenario. Cumberland’s team of third-year students Mary Bishop, Anna Padgett, EJ Turner and Blake Wheeler finished fifth in the nation in this event. They were assisted by second-year student Jacob Baker and coached by Owen Mattox, JD ’22, and Jake Norwood, JD ’22.
Bishop also won a best advocate award. Along with second-year law student Olivia Lee, who won a best advocate award at the Tournament of Champions in October, Cumberland has won three best advocate awards this fall.
These experiences exemplify Cumberland’s national prominence for preparing trial-ready lawyers. Cumberland is currently ranked #4 in the nation for trial advocacy by U.S. News & World Report and #2 in the national Gavel rankings. The law school is also ranked #6 in the nation in the American Bar Association’s top law school competition teams in arbitration, negotiation, client counseling, mediation and appellate advocacy. This is also a testament to Samford University’s national prestige for career preparation and student learning opportunities, having been ranked as #3 and #7 in the nation, respectively, by The Wall Street Journal for 2026.
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford is widely recognized as having one of the most beautiful campuses in America, featuring rolling hills, meticulously maintained grounds and Georgian-Colonial architecture. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second-highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.
